Unveiling the Dynamic Mechanisms of Anxiety: A Network Analysis of Negative Life Events and Anxiety Symptoms Among High School Students

Objective: To explore the relationship between negative life events and anxiety in high school students, to identify core symptoms and their interrelationships, and to provide empirical research evidence for the alleviation of anxiety. Methods: A stratified random sampling method was adopted to select 1,576 high school students from some of the central Anhui Province, Anhui Province, China. Questionnaires were administered using the Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC) and the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS). The data were analyzed using the statistical software package SPSS 26.0 in conjunction with the R software (Version 4.4.1). Results: The network structure of ASLEC and SAS for high school students comprises a total of 384 effective edges, forming two internal tight sub-networks.In ASLEC, ASLEC-2 (strength of 1.09) and ASLEC-15 (strength of 1.15) have higher strengths, ASLEC-5 (bridge strength of 0.125) and ASLEC-6 (bridge strength of 0.252) have higher bridge strengths; in SAS, SAS-3 (strength of 1.22) and SAS-12 (strength of 1.18) have higher strengths, SAS -3 bridge strength of (0.165) and SAS-4 (bridge strength of 0.164) bridge strengths are higher; the ASLEC-6-SAS-9 sideline carries more weight in connecting the 2 sub-networks. Conclusion: Network analyses provide empirical support for precise interventions for negative life events and anxiety reduction in high school students. Interventions that target core symptoms are beneficial for improving the mental health of high school students and providing a deeper understanding of the dynamics between symptoms.